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I left Vancouver five months ago amid a hail of media attention following my “Goodbye Vancouver” Dear John letter. Since moving to Halifax I have received repeated requests for a follow-up. These have come mainly from two camps: Vancouverites who refuse to believe anyone can find happiness anywhere east of the mountains, and those who are […]

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My own mental pictures came from a vibrant art exhibit by a Canadian cohort of painters known as the Group of Seven, whose works featured dramatic wilderness scenes in vivid colours. (I’d been there once when I was four, but had no memories of it.)

Unlike Rasputin, Emperor Alexander II, Czar Paul I and poet Alexander Pushkin, we visited St. Petersburg and came out alive. "Poisoned, shot and thrown in the river; hit by a bomb; killed by conspirators; and fatally wounded in a duel," says tour guide Elena Streltsova by way of summary of the ways the four gentlemen met their untimely ends.

Can nude sunbathers who willingly expose themselves in public still expect to be protected by Canada’s voyeurism laws? That knotty legal question, which has been tested in an Ontario court, is now being explored by social media vigilantes at Vancouver’s famous clothing-optional Wreck Beach.

Late last year, as actors on U.S. late night shows each took turns impersonating Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, a surprising number decided to portray the chief executive with a stereotypical Canadian accent — nasal, slow and punctuated with “ehs” and “aboots.”

Jackie Hooper in her nearly nine decades on Earth has raised two children, served in the Second World War, flown airplanes, earned two degrees and a masters, written a book, painted hundreds of paintings, worked as a gas jockey and a librarian and tried to commit suicide many times.

Mark Cohon arrived on the scene in a three-piece suit prior to the 2007 season at a time when CFL attendance was greater than it is now. He vowed to improve revenues while getting rid of corporate logos on playing fields, improve the quality of officiating and carefully watch the encroachment of the Buffalo Bills into Toronto that threatened to swallow three-down football with one bite. It’s fair, therefore, to suggest the CFL commissioner who is outgoing in more ways than one has had both successes and failures, and it is impossible to list all on either side.

Frontline workers at the Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter “don’t find it surprising at all” that women who have had nude photos leaked online — like Hollywood actress Jennifer Lawrence or UBC student Anisa Salmi — are being blamed and shamed for their plight.

When you read this, I'm just about wrapping up a 6,000-kilometre drive trapped in a 2014 Chevy Clean Turbo Diesel Cruze with my husband. As I write, however, it's only Tuesday, Day 6, of this fuelish adventure to try and break an existing record to travel between Vancouver to Halifax using the least amount of fuel.

Eight days, 6,000 kilometres, attempt to set a record for fuel consumption. Husband and wife. I get that look from people when I tell them what this coming week involves. Over the phone, there's a hesitation, silence, then: "You're doing what? "

It was a dog’s breakfast of a file — with the singular feature, almost unheard of in a sexual assault complaint, of an independent witness — that led police and prosecutors to conclude they couldn’t charge anyone in the Rehtaeh Parsons case.

My husband and I set off from Halifax on a summer road trip. It seems everyone is on the road. Passing vehicles are crammed with road-weary parents, screaming children or road-warrior truckers. We should be in our element but this is not a vacation road trip, nor are we travelling together. That would be too normal.

The first time I drove on public roads, I remember cresting a hill and, seeing that curvy road splayed out far below, I gasped sharply with the realization that I was in control. This wasn’t some carnival ride where someone else was at the helm and all I had to do was wait for the terror to subside.

WEEHAWKEN, N.J. — Nathan MacKinnon called linemate Jonathan Drouin the most skilled player in the 2013 draft. Drouin called MacKinnon the most explosive skater whose complete game and compete level will allow the Halifax Mooseheads centre to transition into the NHL next season. That should be for Colorado, which owns the first overall selection Sunday in Newark, N.J.

The beeps are strident, insistent and getting closer together. Even though I know the alert system is a safety feature, I don't need to know that something is so close to my bumper that I may hit it. I

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By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.